VMI Shortlisted for Climate Award That VMI has been keen on environmental reduction policies is no longer news. However, having pledged to commit to net zero emissions by 2030 on the Government Business Climate Hub … Read more
Netflix Surgeon’s Cut Shooting With Cinema Cameras and Lenses Large Sensor Cinematography Netflix’s cinematic documentary, ‘The Surgeon’s Cut’ has won a well-deserved Emmy in the category of Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary. This four-chapter series demonstrates some new and intriguing filming techniques. … Read more
VMI Retires all Tungsten Rental Lighting Tungsten is the most traditional form of TV/Film lighting but not many realise that 96% of the energy used is output as heat, leaving only 4% to produce light. This makes them immensely inefficient and not at all compatible with modern sustainability ideals and on these grounds, VMI has decided to retire all of its tungsten lighting in October 2021.
VMI switches to ‘Green’ Gaffer/Camera Tape We are starting to look at all aspects of our business processes and supplier LeMark suggested that their new gaffer tape was more environmentally friendly than the regular type. They … Read more
Mike Rosario joins VMI as Head of Cameras VMI has a new Head of Cameras starting this week on VMI’s camera floor in Acton, West London. Mike is extremely well known in the industry, having worked during the … Read more
Shooting Tyger on SIGMA Classic Primes Large Sensor Cinematography New British indie feature Tyger has finished filming with a Canon C500 II and SIGMA Classic Primes, a combination picked to enhance the emotional impact of an ex-soldier’s internal conflict. … Read more
VMI Are Recruiting! VMI currently have the opening for a Senior Technician to join our busy camera rental facility in West London and are inviting applications now. Candidates must have a background in … Read more
VMI Stops Using Disposable AA Batteries VMI has made the transition to using rechargeable AA batteries and entirely stopped the environmentally harmful use of disposable batteries and shared this practice with the wider rental community.
Meet Our New Apprentices They said it couldn’t be done but VMI’s 3 apprentices are are part of the first cohort of the Camera Technician Apprenticeship programme and are ready to start their two week boot camp at the London Screen Academy later this month.
VMI Group Recycles 100% of Waste – CERTIFIED As part of VMI’s sustainability drive, we are immensely proud to report that a recent waste audit completed by our waste contractor, Collect My Waste, certified that none of the waste collected from both VMI sites in London and Bristol were sent to Landfill.
Long-awaited UK Camera Tech Apprenticeship standard is rolled out More than 200 young hopefuls who initially lodged their interest in the new Camera Tech Apprenticeship programme, were reduced to 100 after the first sift, 56 at the second and just 42 received invitations to the activity and selection day event, hosted at the London Screen Academy on Wednesday 21 July.
VMI wins award to achieve net-zero by 2030 VMI is the proud recipient of a Better Futures+ Green Innovation Voucher, awarded by West London Business, to help VMI to become a net zero, fully sustainable business by 2030. … Read more
Brand New VMEDIA on-line database V2 Media, DIT and Streaming, Technology With so many different recording formats, memory card types, media sizes, compatibility issues and upgrade requirements, it can be a challenge trying to find compatible memory cards or SSDs for your camera or recorder. However, Lewis has been extremely hard at work to make this easier for you with the VMEDIA Online Database V2 which is organised into the most popular brands and sortable by camera model, which gives details on compatibility, data rates and approximate recording times too
UK’s first Apprenticeship Standard for Camera Technicians now open for registration for Aug 21 start Back in 2019, VMI Managing Director, Barry Bassett, first contacted the TV Industry body, ScreenSkills in order to investigate whether it might be possible to set up a formal apprenticeship standard for UK Camera Rental companies. After some false starts, we expect that the first cohort of Apprentices will start in Summer/Autumn 2021.
VMI Bristol is 6 years old VMI Bristol celebrates six years since it was set up and in that time, Gary, Jon and the rest of the Bristol team have established it into a mainstream camera rental supplier for natural history and commercials/documentary productions in the South West.
Some S-35 zooms already cover FF (you just didn’t know this!) Lenses This is an extremely brief article to help to explain a lesser-known but extremely valuable tip. In summary, Film zooms designed to cover S-35 sensors, will also cover Full Frame as well IF used with a 1.5x extender and this is built into several zoom lenses already, such as the Canon Cabrio zooms. In English, this means that you can use Full Frame cameras with existing PL zooms and may not even need external image expanders.
Going viral with Venice in lockdown London Enterprising young filmmakers Edoardo Forato and Fyras Slaiman hope their new short film In-Flu-Enza will catch the attention of producers and directors. The period drama, set amid the 1920 Spanish flu outbreak, … Read more
Netflix Approved UHD 4K cameras Cameras, Technology Here is a list of Netflix approved UHD cameras as of November 2020.
VMI now charge a 3-day hire week on all products For decades, there has been an unwritten convention in the UK that professional and prosumer cameras/associated equipment attracted a 4-day hire rate for a week’s hire, whilst broadcast and film … Read more
Resource Productions: Breaking down the glass door Resource Productions: Breaking down the glass door The film and TV industry is a Catch-22 for many aspiring filmmakers. How can you attract the attention of producers, commissioners and agents … Read more
Macro and Micro Cinematography Cinematography, Lenses We all love to see images of extreme magnification to show a world which we can’t experience with our own eyes but just like all cinematography, this is hard to do well. The choice right lens for the specific shot is key and this article aims to explain the differences between Close Up, Macro and Micro photography/cinematography and in particular, to introduce the cinematographer to a relatively recent new type of lens, which are called Nelsonian Lenses made by Infinity Photo-Optical and which use microscope techniques to create unique images which are not possible using traditional optics.
VMI’s Barry Bassett wins prestigious Nelsonian Award. A surprise announcement by by Infinity Photo-Optical Company, saw VMI’s Managing Director, Barry Bassett being awarded their annual Nelsonian Award to recognise his work and lifetime commitment to imaging excellence.
Living Wage Week coincides with VMI’s anniversary achieving accreditation One year ago, VMI achieved formal accreditation of being a Living Wage Employer. The Living Wage foundation are the organisation at the heart of the independent movement of businesses and … Read more
Latest Canon EF lenses increase functionality of latest Canon 5D/C300 III/C500II cameras Cameras, Technology Canon’s autofocus technology has continued to improve and the latest dual pixel CMOS AF system is the most sophisticated ever, allowing smooth, high-performance focus tracking and face detection on the Canon C300 Mk II and C500 Mk II cameras.